In my quest to explore more of Sydney, I spent a wonderful morning at The Hyde Park Barracks. It was beautifully renovated in 2020 and had a very clever audio system that was sensitive to where you were standing and automatically told you what was relevant. Very clever. I also took some snaps of the nearby Sydney Hospital and Martin Place on the walk back to the station.
Sydney Hospital courtyard and front
Hyde Park Barracks
- Built in 1819 by convicts, designed by colonial architect Francis Greenway — himself a transported convict.
- One of the world’s best-preserved convict sites, now part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites.
- Originally housed up to 600 male convicts working on government projects — a key part of Sydney’s early penal system.
- Later repurposed as an immigration depot for single women (1848–1886), many fleeing the Irish Famine.
- Served as an asylum for destitute and aged women, then as government offices and courts into the 20th century.
- More than 100,000 artefacts uncovered beneath floorboards and in the yard — including shoes, rosary beads, rat bones, and hidden keepsakes.
- Considered one of Australia’s richest archaeological sites, offering rare insights into daily life across centuries.
- Said to be haunted, with frequent ghost sightings and supernatural tales — popular on Sydney ghost tours.
- Reopened in 2020 after a major renovation, featuring immersive audio tours with 3D soundscapes and storytelling.
- Today, the Barracks offers a powerful window into Australia’s convict, colonial, and immigration history.
Martin Place
